Meet the House Cats with “wild blood”

Some of you may be familiar with the more “wild breeds” such as Bengals but where did they come from? How long have they been around with us? And what are the risks and guidelines Breeders have to follow…

Of course we continue to support re-homing more than ever as there are plenty of cats in need of rescuing in charities but we thought some of you all might be interested in finding out more about these “new breeds”

What are your thoughts on these? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks,

Marc

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Marc-André

We regularly write about all things relating to cats on our Blog Katzenworld!
My partner and I are owned by four cheeky cats that get up to all kind of mischief that of course, you'll also be able to find out more about on our Blog
If you are interested in joining us by becoming a regular contributor/guest author do drop me a message.

I love my Bengal, whom I found in a parking lot. But if you look at the websites of the many “Big Cat Sanctuaries” spread around the US, where tigers, lions and cougars bought as pets by idiots, or rescued from circuses, can live out their lives in peace, you would be heartbroken at how many of them are regularly asked to re-home Bengals whose buyers didn’t know what they were getting into, just like Nickel’s original owner, who was found but wouldn’t take her back permanently because of her behavior. Nickel soiled on the guest bed for a year and a half after I adopted her — I had patience, enough space and plenty of plastic sheeting to keep it from ever becoming a problem, but lots of people won’t go to that length. Some are aggressive (she’s a little nuts, but is mellowed by her relationship with one of my other cats). Cats surrendered to shelters for soiling are pretty well unadoptable and likely to be euthanized. And the Asian cat used as the “wild” half, to produce those pretty spots, is endangered. I love Nickel, but cats like her should not be bred, either for profit or curiosity.

I always thought Bengals were cool cats and at one time I thought about getting a Bengal kitten. However, since adopting my two awesome kitties as young adults, I don’t know that I would ever think about paying for a pure bred cat. I also get concerned about the breeding of cats and dogs to get certain physical features…with their health and well-being. It seems to me that some of this breeding goes too far, especially when there are so many babies out there in need of adoption.

We love some of the breeds but very much agree with you on the babies in need and that some of the breeding does go too far. Tho unfortunately rogue breeder give the good and ethical ones a bad reputation! 🙁

There is often a dream to have one of the larger cats as a pet. My fantasy novels started with a cat looking like a miniature tiger, one of the supporting actors was a Serval cat in a later novel, and finally I have moved to having an actual leopard as a character.
Nevertheless, one remains in the dilemma of encouraging special breeds on the one hand, but denying so many needy strays a home on the other. In fact, unless we can control the breeding of feral cats sufficiently to home all or most, I think the special breeds are a luxury not morally justifiable.

We have four moggies (non-pedigrees) and four pedigree Radolls. They are all beautiful cats, and adored equally.
Our moggies are three rescues and one girl who was my partner’s nan’s cat, who we took on.
I’d read about the Radoll breed in a cat encyclopedia when I was young, and always wanted one. However I never felt I could justify spending so much money.
One day I heard of a Radoll kitten with a serious health condition that would limit his life. The breeder was hoping she could find somebody to give him a loving home, for as much time as he had. – So we were gifted our treasured Tika who we sadly had to help over Rainbow Bridge last Dec, aged 2yrs 4 months.
He was a wonderful cat, and a great ambassador for the Radoll breed! As a thank you for taking him on, the next year the breeder gifted us another kitten.
We have since bought three more kittens from her, as they’re such a lovely breed, and get on with our moggies and suit our lifestyle.
I totally understand the argument that people should rescue. But sometimes people do want specific traits in their cats, which are more likely to be obtained by seeking a pedigree.
I don’t agree with the breeding of those breeds that can cause health problems for the cats, such as those with extreme anatomical features.
However, I do feel there is a place for properly controlled pedigree breeding, along with efforts to reduce the numbers of cats in rescue centres. We don’t want these beautiful cats to become extinct.

Thank you for this interesting article. I agree with thoughts many of your readers have already expressed. Can see the benefits of breeding as long as does not lead to health problems. But also the benefits of adopting rescues since they need homes.

Many people will choose a Bengal simply because of the way it looks.However, in my experience, the earlier strains of Bengal find life in a domestic setting challenging due to their being so close to their wild counterparts. This can lead to all sorts of behaviour issues from over-vocalisation to urine-spraying to wandering. I would advise any prospective owners to do research the breed thoroughly!